WPSP Institute Day 1

“Young women leaders from around the world need to build networks, to share ideas, experiences, strategies and skills with each other. This summer institute will provide a powerful crucible for this exchange.”

Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues

Today marks the start of the first Women in Public Service Project Institute, hosted by Wellesley College in Massachussetts.  This pilot institute brings together 50 emerging women leaders from across the globe between the ages of 25-45 who are already serving in different fields of public service and/or political or elected office. The institute hopes to provide a forum for shared learning and dialogue; exchange of experiences and expertise; peer-to-peer mentoring and networking; and build an important platform for cross-fertilization of knowledge and innovative leadership skills. Since the institute will be launched a year from the defining events of the Arab Spring, it will acknowledge the uniqueness of this historical moment by including a particularly strong cohort from the Middle East and North Africa regions (MENA) as well as from other countries undergoing political and social transformations.

Agenda – Monday, June 11

8:30 a.m. Delegates and Invited Guests Arrive at Tishman Commons, Wang Campus Center

9:00 – 9:45 a.m. Welcome Addresses: The Transformative Potential of Women’s Leadership: Envisioning the Way Forward

President H. Kim Bottomly, President of Wellesley College

Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim Communities for the United States and co-founder of the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) Introduced by Kate Salop, Assistant Vice President and Executive Assistant to the President, Wellesley College and member of WPSP Steering Committee

Kavita Ramdas, Head of WPSP Planning Committee and Director of Ripples to Waves, Stanford University and Former Head of Global Fund for Women) Introduced by Rangita de Silva de Alwis, Director of WPSP Institute at Wellesley College

9:45 – 10:15 a.m. Narratives from Around the World: The Transformative Power of Women’s Leadership in Public Service Conversation with WPSP Delegates:

• Dr. Nyo Nyo Thinn- Member of Parliament, Yangon Province, Myanmar 

• Hon. Jackcilia Salathiel Ebere Ginana, Minister for Labour, South Sudan

• Wafa Bani Mustafa, Member of Parliament, Jordan

• Naheed Farid, Member of Parliament, Afghanistan

• Alma Lana, Member of Parliament, Kosovo

• Rania Ramadan Mohamed Ahmed–Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, Egypt

Moderator: Rangita de Silva de Alwis

10:30 a.m.

Delegates and Invited Guests move to Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall

ADDRESS by Secretary Madeleine Albright, first woman U.S. Secretary of State Women and Leadership in the 21st Century Introduced by Ambassador Michele Sison, Assistant Chief of Mission for Law Enforcement and Rule of Law Assistance in Baghdad, Iraq; former Ambassador to Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates

KEYNOTE ADDRESS by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State

Introduced by President H. Kim Bottomly

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. GALA LUNCH CELEBRATION OF WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE Journey to Public Service: Transforming Women’s Leadership through Public Service Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall Ballroom

Remarks by Judge Nancy Gertner, former U.S. Federal Court Judge and Honorable Mu Sochua, former Minister of Women’s Affairs Cambodia

More Information about the Institute Available Here